Adapter for floor maintenance machines

ABSTRACT

An adapter for floor maintenance machine to secure an accessory pad to the brush carried by the machine. The adapter includes a mounting bracket attached to the backing plate of the brush within the central opening in the bristles, a circular support plate carried by the mounting bracket in an adjustably spaced position with respect to the bracket and a circular clamping plate adapted to fit over the support plate to clamp the accessory pad between the support plate and clamping plate. A plurality of pins may be provided for extending through the accessory pad to selectively lock same against radial movement with respect to the brush and a venting means may be provided for supplying air to the motor of the maintenance machine.

United States Patent Hill 3,678,531 [451 July 25,1972

[54] ADAPTER FOR FLOOR MAINTENANCE MACHINES 72 Inventor: Theodore Hill,Atlanta, Ga.

[73] Assignee: B. J. Powell, Decatur, Ga. a part interest [22] Filed:Feb. 17, 1971 21 Appl. No.1 116,147

521 U.S.Cl ..l5/230.l9 s11 lnt.Cl ..A47l1l/l4,A47ll3/28 58 Field ofSearch ..l5/230. i9, 246; 51/376, 377,

51/378, 379; 16/108; 287/D1G. 13; 52/678; 285/399, 403, DIG. 22

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,995,765 8/1961 Ballato etal ..15/230.19 3,172,142 3/1965 Garth 15/246 3,135,981 6/1964 Fitch etal ..15/230.19

2,855,206 10/1958 Haviiand ..285/DlG. 22

Primary ExaminerLeon G. Machlin Attorney-B. .1. Powell [57] ABSTRACT Anadapter for floor maintenance machine to secure an accessory pad to thebrush carried by the machine. The adapter includes a mounting bracketattached to the backing plate of the brush within the central opening inthe bristles, a circular sup port plate carried by the mounting bracketin an adjustably spaced position with respect to the bracket and acircular clamping plate adapted to fit over the support plate to clampthe accessory pad between the support plate and clamping plate. Aplurality of pins may be provided for extending through the accessorypad to selectively lock same against radial movement with respect to thebrush and a venting means may be provided for supplying air to the motorof the maintenance machine.

8 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEU JUL 2 5 i972 SHEU 1 (IF 2 PAIENIEUJUL25 I972 SHEET 2 OF 2 1 ADAPTER FOR FLOOR MAINTENANCE MACHINESBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Floor maintenance machines for polishing,scrubbing, shampooing and butfing floors and floor coverings are usuallyprovided with a circular brush which rests flat on the floor and whichis driven by a motor, the weight of which rests on the brush. While theconventional brush is used for most floor maintenance operations, it isfrequently necessary to use accessory pads such as steel wool orsynthetic pads. Various adapters have been devised for securing theaccessory pads to the brush, however, these adapters usually did notsatisfactorily secure the pads. This is because these adapters hadprojections which would extend below the pad working surface to strikeand mar the floor, especially as the pad became worn, or did not gripthe pad about its central hole sufficiently to prevent the hole fromenlarging to a point where the adapter was ineffective in securing thepad to the brush.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION These and other problems associated with theprior art are overcome by the invention disclosed herein by providingfor the adjustment of the adapter to compensate both for pad wear andbrush wear in order to prevent the adapter from striking the floor, forthe gripping of the pad about its central hole to prevent theenlargement of the hole with the resulting loss of effectiveness of theadapter, and for the cooling of the motor of the maintenance machine.

The apparatus of the invention includes a mounting bracket releasablysecured to the backing plate for the brush of the maintenance machinewithin the central opening in the brush bristles, a circular supportplate carried by the mounting bracket in a selectively adjustablerelationship with respect to the mounting bracket, and a clamping plateadapted to overlie the support plate and clamp the pad therebetweenabout its central hole. A retaining means is provided for precluding theradial displacement of the pad adjacent the central hole and a coolingmeans is provided on the apparatus for assisting in cooling the motor ofthe maintenance machine.

These and other features and advantages of the invention will be moreclearly understood upon consideration of the following specification andaccompanying drawings wherein like characters of reference designatecorresponding parts throughout the several views and in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective exploded viewof the invention on a floor maintenance machine;

FIG. 2 is a partial transverse cross-sectional view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the invention of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the spacing meansof the invention.

These figures and the following detailed description disclose specificembodiments of the invention, however, it is to be understood that theinventive concept is not limited thereto since it may be embodied inother forms.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1 thefloor maintenance machine F with which the invention is used includes amotor M and brush B carried in housing A for rotation by motor M. Themachine F includes the usual wheels W and handle H with control C. Themachine F is shown tilted up in FIG. 1, however, it is to be understoodthat the brush B is parallel to the floor when in use.

An accessory pad P is provided on which the brush B sits to drive same.The pad P may be steel wool or a synthetic material used to scrub,polish or otherwise maintain a floor or floor covering. 7

The pad P is provided with a central hole HL. The brush B includes abacking plate BP, usually of wood, and a plurality of bristles BRembedded in the underside of plate BP. This is best shown in FIG. 2. Apassage PA is centrally located through the plate BP to receive thedriveshaft D from motor M and a conventional locking device L isprovided about passage PA to releasably attach driveshaft D to brush B.The driveshafl D is vented at V to provide for the passage of air intomotor M to cool same. The bristles BR have a central opening 0 aboutpassage PA larger in diameter than the passage PA and hole HL in pad P.

The invention resides in an adapter 10 mounted on the underside ofbacking plate BP within the opening 0. The adapter 10 includes generallya mounting bracket 11 attached to plate BP, a support plate 12 and aclamping plate 14. Spacer assem' blies l5 adjust the spacing between thebracket 11 and support plate 12.

The mounting bracket 11 is cross-shaped member having four legs 16 whichspan the passage PA of backing plate BP. Each leg 16 is secured to plateBP by a screw 18 passing through appropriate apertures 19 in the outerends of legs 16. A central aperture 20 is provided in bracket 11 toreceive a clamping bolt therethrough as will be explained and aninternally threaded nut 21 is attached to the bracket 11 over aperture20 to engage the bolt. An intermediate aperture 22 is provided in eachleg 16 to receive a support mandrel as will be explained.

The support plate 12 is circular with a diameter smaller than theopening 0 in the bristles BR to be easily positioned therein but largerthan the hole I-IL through pad P. A central hole 30 is providedtherethrough for the passage of the clamping bolt as will be explained.Equally spaced about a path concentric with hole 30 are four upstandingsupport mandrels 31 which extend up from the plate .12 and pass throughintermediate apertures 22 in bracket 11 as seen in FIG. 2 when the plate12 is in position under bracket 11. A pair of diametrically opposedpassages 32 are provided through plate 12 outwardly of mandrels 31 toreceive a pair of driving dogs as will be explained. A plurality ofpassages 34 are provided about the peripheral edge 35 of plate 12 toreceive retaining pins therethrough as will be explained. Three arcuatevent slots 36 are provided through plate 12 between the central hole 30and mandrels 31 for the passage of air to motor M through driveshatt Dand impellers 38 are provided on the top side of plate 12 to draw airthrough slots 36 when the brush B and plate 12 are rotated as will beexplained.

Clamping plate 14 is also circular with a diameter equal to plate 12 anda central hole 40 which overlies hole 30 in plate 12. The plates 12 andI4 clamp the pad P therebetween. A pair of driving dogs 41 are attachedto the plate 14 and extend from the top surface thereof up throughpassages 32 to cause plate 14 to be rotated as plate 12 is rotated. Aplurality of retaining pins 42 are carried by plate 14 adjacent itsperipheral edge 44 and extend through the pad P adjacent its centralhole HL and passages 34 in plate 12 to prevent radial movement of thepad P about hole HL to enlarge same.

A threaded clamping bolt 50 is provided for insertion up through holes40 and 30 to engage nut: 21. As the bolt 50 is tightened, it will beseen that the plates 12 and 14 will clamp the pad P therebetween andthey will be spaced a predetermined distance d below bracket 11 by thespacer assemblies 15.

Each spacer assembly 15 is adapted to be received around mandrel 31between bracket 11 and plate 12 to adjustably space the plate 12 belowbracket 11 as seen in FIG. 2. The spacer assemblies 15 each include aplurality of interlocking spacers 60 as best seen in FIG. 4. Each spacer60 is cylindrical with a central passageway 61 therethrough for thereceipt of the mandrel 31. One end of spacer 60 is recessed at 62 aroundpassageway 61 with a locking groove 64 around the innermost comer ofrecess 62. The opposite end of spacer 60 has an annular projection 65extending therefrom around passageway 61 adapted to be received in therecess 62 of another spacer 60 as seen in FIGS. 2 and 4. A head 66 isprovided on the outermost edge of projection 65 to engage the groove 64of another spacer 60 to lock same together. The spacers 60 areconstructed of a material resilient enough to allow the spacers to besnapped together yet Strong enough to position support plate 12. Sincethe effective height h of each spacer 60 is considerably less than thedistance d to be used, the necessary number of spacers 60 are snappedtogether and placed over each mandrel 31 as seen in FIG. 2 to define theprescribed distance d between bracket 11 and plate 12. Also, the plate12 could be recessed around mandrels 31 similarly to recesses 62 andgrooves 64 in spacers 60 to lock each spacer assembly 15 to plate 12.

OPERATION In operation, the bracket 11 of adapter is permanentlyinstalled on base plate BP of brush B so that the center thereof isaligned with the center of brush B. In this condition, the brush B canbe used in conventional manner. When it is desired to secure pad P tobrush B, the necessary number of spacers 60 are selected and snappedtogether to form assemblies 15, each having a total height equal to thedesired prescribed distance D. The distance d is usually such that thebottom surface of plate 12 will lie in the plane of the bottom of brushB or slightly thereabove. The pad P is then placed under plate 12 andcentered thereon and plate 14 positioned under pad P so that pins 42extend through pad P and passages 34 in plate 12 while dogs 41 extendthrough passages 32. The bolt 50 is inserted through holes 40 and 30 andscrewed into nut 21 to clamp the plates 12 and 14 together and connectsame to bracket 11 as shown in FIG. 2. This serves to firmly connect padP to brush b and position the plate 14 above the working surface of padP to prevent man-ing the floor or floor covering.

The machine F and pad P are then operated in conventional manner withbristles BR of brush B assisting in rotating pad P.

As pad P and bristles BR wear, the spacer assemblies 15 can be varied inheight by changing the number of spacers 60 used for each to compensatefor this wear and insure that the lower surface of plate 14 and bolt 50will always be above the working surface of pad P.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been disclosed herein,it is to be understood that full use of modifications, substitutions andequivalents may be made without departing from the scope of theinvention.

1 claim:

1. An adapter for mounting an accessory pad having a second centralopening on the motor driven rotary brush of a floor maintenance machinecomprising:

a mounting bracket attached to the rotary brush and rotatable therewith;

, a support plate carried by said mounting bracket and including a firstflange adapted to underlie said pad about its central opening inengagement with the underside of said pad to support same from that sideof said pad facing said brush;

clamping means including a second flange adapted to overlie said padabout its central opening on that side of said pad opposite said brush;and,

holding means for forcing said clamping means and said support platetogether and clamping said pad between said first and second flanges.

2. The adapter of claim I further including a plurality of retainingmembers engaging said pad between said first and second flanges toprevent radial displacement of said pad about its central opening.

3. The adapter of claim 2 wherein said retaining members are mounted onsaid second flange and wherein said first flange includes a plurality ofapertures therethrough in alignment with said retaining members throughwhich said retaining members extend when said first and second flangesare forced together.

4. The adapter of claim 1 further including means for selectivelyadjusting the spacing between said mounting bracket and said supportplate.

5. The a apter of claim 3 further including means for selectivelyadjusting the spacing between said mounting bracket and said supportplate.

6. The adapter of claim 5 further including venting means in saidadapter for supplying air to the motor of the maintenance machine assaid brush is rotated.

7. The adapter of claim 3 further including drive means connecting saidmounting bracket with said support plate and said clamping means forrotating said support plate and said clamping means as said mountingbracket is rotated.

8. The adapter of claim 1 wherein the brush has a backing plate withbristles extending from one face thereof and a first central opening inthe bristles of a first prescribed diameter to expose a central portionof said backing plate, wherein the pad is annular with the secondcentral opening therethrough having a second prescribed diameter smallerthan said first prescribed diameter, wherein said mounting bracket ismounted on said backing plate within the central opening of thebristles, wherein said first flange of said support plate has an outsidediameter smaller than the first central opening in the bristles andlarger than the diameter of the second central opening in the pad, andwherein said second flange of said clamping means has an outsidediameter smaller than the first central opening in the bristles andlarger in diameter than the pins carried by said second cumferentiallyspaced thereabout to extend through said pad about the second centralopening, said first flange defining a plurality of aperturestherethrough, one of said apertures underlying each said retaining pin.

1. An adapter for mounting an accessory pad having a second centralopening on the motor driven rotary brush of a floor maintenance machinecomprising: a mounting bracket attached to the rotary brush androtatable therewith; a support plate carried by said mounting bracketand including a first flange Adapted to underlie said pad about itscentral opening in engagement with the underside of said pad to supportsame from that side of said pad facing said brush; clamping meansincluding a second flange adapted to overlie said pad about its centralopening on that side of said pad opposite said brush; and, holding meansfor forcing said clamping means and said support plate together andclamping said pad between said first and second flanges.
 2. The adapterof claim 1 further including a plurality of retaining members engagingsaid pad between said first and second flanges to prevent radialdisplacement of said pad about its central opening.
 3. The adapter ofclaim 2 wherein said retaining members are mounted on said second flangeand wherein said first flange includes a plurality of aperturestherethrough in alignment with said retaining members through which saidretaining members extend when said first and second flanges are forcedtogether.
 4. The adapter of claim 1 further including means forselectively adjusting the spacing between said mounting bracket and saidsupport plate.
 5. The adapter of claim 3 further including means forselectively adjusting the spacing between said mounting bracket and saidsupport plate.
 6. The adapter of claim 5 further including venting meansin said adapter for supplying air to the motor of the maintenancemachine as said brush is rotated.
 7. The adapter of claim 3 furtherincluding drive means connecting said mounting bracket with said supportplate and said clamping means for rotating said support plate and saidclamping means as said mounting bracket is rotated.
 8. The adapter ofclaim 1 wherein the brush has a backing plate with bristles extendingfrom one face thereof and a first central opening in the bristles of afirst prescribed diameter to expose a central portion of said backingplate, wherein the pad is annular with the second central openingtherethrough having a second prescribed diameter smaller than said firstprescribed diameter, wherein said mounting bracket is mounted on saidbacking plate within the central opening of the bristles, wherein saidfirst flange of said support plate has an outside diameter smaller thanthe first central opening in the bristles and larger than the diameterof the second central opening in the pad, and wherein said second flangeof said clamping means has an outside diameter smaller than the firstcentral opening in the bristles and larger in diameter than the secondcentral opening in the pad; and further including a plurality ofretaining pins carried by said second flange and circumferentiallyspaced thereabout to extend through said pad about the second centralopening, said first flange defining a plurality of aperturestherethrough, one of said apertures underlying each said retaining pin.